The Hair Tool That Gives You Salon-Worthy Dos At Home

My curly hair used to be Sarah Jessica-cute, but in recent years, my natural texture has more in common with the very dark, frizzy days of hair metal. More and more, I find I feel more put together with my hair sleek. The problem is that I am a blowout failure. My strands get tangled in a round brush, I can’t manoeuvre to reach the back, and by the time I’m almost through my thickish hair, I’m sweating profusely, thus undermining the whole process. A flatiron can sometimes save the day, but often I end up with weird kinks and burned ears.

For years, I would only wear my hair straight when I could swing a salon blowout, and then I’d dry-shampoo it for an absurd number of days afterwards to make it last. But that’s more time and money than I want to spend on hair. So when my beauty guru, a.k.a. my teenage daughter, got a Brush Crush for Christmas, I was psyched to borrow it and see if this trendy hair tool could help me finally achieve straight hair at home.

What is the Brush Crush?

It’s truly, as their promo video says, “like a paddle brush and a flatiron had a baby.” Basically, it’s a heated straightening brush that retails for (yikes) $181 in Canada. But if you’re paying for blowouts, it does justify itself after just about four or five uses, and it saves you time, too. In Canada, you can purchase it online or in store at Sephora, or at the Vancouver Drybar location.

How do you use the Brush Crush?

I do a quick rough blow dry and then brush my hair free of tangles. The Brush Crush instruction video advises using a heat-protecting product next. Then, you divide your hair, and run the Brush Crush through each section, holding the hair taut as you move the brush through to the ends; the smaller the sections, the smoother the hair. (For the wispy strands at my nape, I just use like a regular brush, only very slowly.) If you want a bit of a curl-under, use it with bristles out; for a subtle flip, try it bristles in. When I’m finished, I smooth the ends of my hair, which tends to be dry and frizzy, with a bit of styling cream. Although it’s fairly easy to use, and you’re much less likely to burn yourself than with a regular flatiron, I do find I’m often accidentally turning it up, down or off, since those buttons are located right where you grip the handle. It can reach temperatures of up to 450 degrees F, although I’ve never tried it at full heat.

Does the Brush Crush work?

My feelings for the Brush Crush are real: thanks to my new go-to, this hair dummy can now give herself a solid B+ blowout in about 20 minutes (including drying time). (Note that you can’t do a hair bend with this tool, so you may want to keep seeing your curling iron on the side.)